brutuscz
Active Member
After a year long experiment, I have decided to switch back. I previously had a 4 bulb T-5 unit and 2-led panels. These were older panels from china, and I only used the actinics (the whites were terrible). The growth and color of my corals was excellent. Monti's, acros...had to cut them back regularly. It was a great lighting combo.
A year ago, my T-5 unit ballast went...and I decided to go all LED. I used the two panels I had, and added two DSunY panels. They use bridgelux bulbs and are dimmable. I found my corals were very finicky with all LED's. My monti's were great near the top. Now, they lost color..and often died. My brain corals did terrible...Many bleached and had to be hidden under shelves in the shade. My chalices used to grow like crazy...now, they receded back. My final straw was losing many frogspawn and hammer corals. Placement was tough for all corals....even Zo's did not want to open.
I then read an article from a Zoanthid propogation and sales website. They had described exactly what I was seeing with my zo's. They stated this happens with an all LED setup. They also stated that combo lighting seemed to work the best. So, I bought a new 4 bulb T-5 setup and am still using the 2 DsunY units. So far, so good. Right off the bat...many of my zo's are opening fully. I have a great feeling about the switch!!
I spoke to several people who work in a few of my LFS. They seemed to agree that the combo was best. They blame the majority of the problem on the spread of the LED bulbs. The light is too direct...even with lenses over them. I tried a sheet of lexan for this problem. Still....did not help enough. I feel confident my tank will return to it's former glory!! Who else has switched back??
One other thing I noticed...I decided to go through many past, tank of the months, and examined the lighting in the coral reef book by Vargas. So few of these excellent tanks used LED's alone. I think I have found out why with my experiment.
This was the article I read
Planet Zoa - Zoa Lighting: LED Astray
A year ago, my T-5 unit ballast went...and I decided to go all LED. I used the two panels I had, and added two DSunY panels. They use bridgelux bulbs and are dimmable. I found my corals were very finicky with all LED's. My monti's were great near the top. Now, they lost color..and often died. My brain corals did terrible...Many bleached and had to be hidden under shelves in the shade. My chalices used to grow like crazy...now, they receded back. My final straw was losing many frogspawn and hammer corals. Placement was tough for all corals....even Zo's did not want to open.
I then read an article from a Zoanthid propogation and sales website. They had described exactly what I was seeing with my zo's. They stated this happens with an all LED setup. They also stated that combo lighting seemed to work the best. So, I bought a new 4 bulb T-5 setup and am still using the 2 DsunY units. So far, so good. Right off the bat...many of my zo's are opening fully. I have a great feeling about the switch!!
I spoke to several people who work in a few of my LFS. They seemed to agree that the combo was best. They blame the majority of the problem on the spread of the LED bulbs. The light is too direct...even with lenses over them. I tried a sheet of lexan for this problem. Still....did not help enough. I feel confident my tank will return to it's former glory!! Who else has switched back??
One other thing I noticed...I decided to go through many past, tank of the months, and examined the lighting in the coral reef book by Vargas. So few of these excellent tanks used LED's alone. I think I have found out why with my experiment.
This was the article I read
Planet Zoa - Zoa Lighting: LED Astray
